Tour of California 2019: Stage 1

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January 1 - May 18, Sacramento, California, Road - WorldTour

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Welcome to the Amgen Tour of California stage 1 held in Sacramento. The men's peloton will be racing for 143km with two intermediate sprints followed by downtown city circuits.

2019 Tour of California - Preview

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the opening stage of the Tour of California - from Sacramento!

The race has just started and there's already a four-rider breakaway.

It's a gorgeous day in Sacramento at 27C and full of sunshine. It's a little bit windy today, too, which could affect the racing out along the wide open roadways.

The breakaway riders have built a lead of 1:20. We will have the riders' names for you soon.

The riders in the breakaway are Laurens De Vreese (Astana), Michael Schar (CCC Team), Charles Planet (Novo Nordisk), Tyler Stites (USA National Team).

The race is almost completely flat today, and very much a race for the sprinters.

There are a handful of world-class sprinters in the race today; Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Max Richeze and Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Max Walscheid (Sunweb) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), just to name a few.

The gap is settling in at just over one minute as Dimension Data, Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck-QuickStep take up the pace-setting at the front of the peloton.

There is a USA National Team in the race this week featuring sprinters Travis McCabe and Miguel Bryon.

The newly-named Team Ineos is racing at the Tour of California. Pat Malach spoke with their director Oliver Cookson, who said that they would be working for Kristoffer Halvorsen today in Sacramento.

While the Tour of California kicked off today, teams are also currently racing at the first Grand Tour of the season - Giro d'Italia.

The breakaway is now at the 20km mark. They will hit the first intermediate sprint of the race in the town of Winter located at 62km into the stage.

The peloton is racing through some residential neighbourhoods. 

De Vreese, Stites, Planet and Schar are holding strong at 1:50, but teams are keeping them in check with Dimension Data and Deceuninck-QuickStep putting a rider or two each to set the pace.

The roads are wide open through residential areas and farm lands stretches. The pavement they're racing on now is very rough, full of potholes and chip seal. 

Another sprinter in the field who could very well end up on the podium is Jasper Philipsen (UAE Team Emirates). 

Mark Cavendish said in California on Friday at the opening press conference that a blood test two weeks ago showed he is below the threshold for being sick with Epstein-Barr, the virus that has plagued the Dimension Data sprinter for the past two years.

Tyler Stites, who is currently in the breakaway, normally races for the trade team Aevolo. He's racing Tour of California with the USA National Team.

The stage is flat, flat, flat. There is a little bit of wind but probably not enough to cause echelons like in 2013.

Tim Declercq is riding on the front of the main field for Deceuninck-QuickStep. The team has been hugely successful this year with a total of 26 early-season wins.

91km remaining from 143km

The big sprint teams are not giving this breakaway any leash. It's important for the sprinters here to take a victory, some of them have not won a race yet this year.

The breakaway is almost at the first intermediate sprint in Winter.

Deceuninck-QuickStep have some help from Bora-Hansgrohe and EF Education First are hovering the front, too.

81km remaining from 143km

Schar has made the first jump toward the intermediate sprint line.

Schar went a little too early, as he was chased won by Stites at the line. By winning the sprint, Stites picks up 3 points and 3 bonus seconds.

De Vreese has sat up and dropped back to the main field after the sprint.

Three riders continue on; Stites, Planet and Schar. They have a 50-second lead.

Results of the intermediate sprint in Winter:

76km remaining from 143km

While the peloton are on flat roads today, the race heads into the mountains on stage 2 from Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe.

The breakaway riders' gap is still holding at 1 minute and with the roads being so flat and straight, the peloton has been able to see them the entire time.

And then there were two!

And then there were two!

There seems to be a joke in the field as John Degenkolb and his Trek-Segafredo teammates are seen laughing amongst each other.

The peloton will head back to Sacramento, where upon crossing the finish line for the first time will see the second intermediate sprint. 

This is the 10th time Sacramento has hosted a stage of the Tour of California.

The two breakaway riders are still holding 1:20, it's stayed at that distance (for the most part) for the entire race so far. 

The gap has dropped by 30 seconds, but they still have a 45-second advantage. 

There are just under 40km to go in stage 1 and the gap to the breakaway of Stites and Planet is drastically being cut by the increasingly faster speeds of the peloton looking for a bunch sprint.

Peter Sagan is surrounded by his Bora-Hansgrohe teammates but they are sitting a little further back in the bunch, as rival team Deceuninck-QuickStep take up the reins at the front.

Sagan has only won one race this season, so far, a stage at the Santos Tour Down Under. A sub-par Classics campaign ended with 4th at Milan-Sanremo and 5th at Paris-Roubaix. 

And then there was one!

As Planet looks over his shoulder he can see the peloton behind him.

Planet is still pushing on his pedals even though he will be caught very soon.

13km remaining from 143km

The field is barreling into Sacramento and onto the downtown circuits. They will first sprint for the second intermediate sprint that offers 3 points and 3 bonus seconds.

Deceuninck-QuickStep have complete control of the peloton, they are 2km from the intermediate sprint.

Jumbo-Visma is moving forward with George Bennett, perhaps looking for the time bonuses.

Intermediate sprint 2 results:

This overall race has come down to seconds in the past, and so these intermediate sprints for bonus seconds are valuable.

Katusha-Alpecin has now moved to the front with its lead-out train for Rick Zabel.

Marcel Kittel was supposed to be racing here today, but he announced a hiatus from the sport just last week.

There is 1 lap to go.

Katusa-Alpecin still have the front of the peloton, but they are being followed by CCC Team and Deceuninck-QuickStep.

These are wide boulevard roads and so the field is fanning out wide in and out of the corners, but then being stretched into single file on the straightaways. Sunweb have taken the reins.

Sunweb have a great sprinter in Max Walscheid.

Sunweb are followed by Deceuninck-QuickStep.

They are in the final 4km of the race.

Now Team Ineos are moving forward for sprinter Kristoffer Halvorsen.

Sunweb still have control as they race around the final lap.

Sunweb are trying to maintain their lead-out speeds, but they might have gone too early, and down to three riders.

Deceuninck-QuickStep sit behind with a full team for its sprinters.

The powerful Belgian team have now moved to the front, for sprinter Fabio Jakobsen.

QuickStep are setting such a cast pace that there is no way any other team can come around them.

Team Ineos are contesting the sprint.

Peter Sagan is on the Ineos train

Sagan is sprinting

Peter Sagan wins stage 1 at the Tour of California

Travis McCabe (USA National Team) raced Peter Sagan all the way to the line and finished second.

It is Peter Sagan's 17th stage victory at the Tour of California

Tour of California stage 1 - Top 10

General classification after stage 1

Peter Sagan's victory has also given him the first leader's jersey of the Tour of California.

This is Sagan's second victory of the season. His first was a stage at the Santos Tour Down Under.

Travis McCabe's second place is a big success for the US national team. He said that he doesn't classify himself as a pure sprinter, and hoped for a podium finish in one of the later stages.

Peter Sagan said he was happy with his victory and his team helped him with the win.

Peter Sagan:

Travis McCabe:

Peter Sagan:

"I'm happy that I could get another win, and it will be nice to have a record here in California."

The Tour of California will continue tomorrow with stage 2: Rancho Cordova to South Lake Tahoe, 214.5km.

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